K
The week-long stand-off between a bus operator in Thiruvarppu and activists of the CPI(M)-backed Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) snowballed into a deeper crisis on Sunday when a CITU leader allegedly assaulted the bus owner, triggering protests by activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The drama began to unfold in the morning when the bus operator, identified as Raj Mohan, was assaulted by a CITU leader K.R. Ajay while attempting to dismantle the protest flags and banners erected by the CITU in front of the bus. A police team, which was present at the spot, soon intervened and took the CITU leader to custody.
Following this, a group of Bharatiya Janata Party workers led by Mr. Mohan staged a protest in front of the Kumarakom police station, demanding the arrest of Mr. Ajay. Despite attempts by the authorities to reach out to the protesters, they refused to be reasoned out and continued to insist on the arrest, forcing the police to eventually record his arrest.
“It was based on a direction by the High Court that I sought to resume the service today morning and it was the local police that asked me to remove the flags and banners citing that they had no permission to touch any party flags,’’ said Mr. Mohan, also a local BJP leader.
He also accused the Left trade union of intimidating the crew of other buses under his ownership and forcing them to stay off their duty.
Later in the day, the CITU activists also unleashed a violent attack on the reporter of the Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi, who had reached Thiruvarppu to cover the incident. The person, identified as S.D. Ram, has been admitted to the government medical college, Kottayam.
The CITU had erected protest flags and banners in front of one of the four buses owned by Mr. Mohan, which operates in the Thiruvarppu-Kottayam sector, following a dispute over the daily wages of its employees. Following the failure of attempts by the authorities to resolve the issue amicably, the bus operator approached the Kerala High Court and obtained a verdict in his favour. Despite this, he was unable to resume its operation as the trade union reportedly continued with its protest.
Taking a serious note of the development, Labour Minister V. Sivan Kutty on Sunday directed the District Labour Commissioner to convene a meeting of the parties concerned to resolve the issue. The Additional Labour Commissioner (Enforcement) K. Sunil has been directed to inquire about the episode and submit a report.
